Wednesday, April 28, 6-7:30pm, Mama’s Last Hug by Frans de Waal

Put some Spring in your step with a focus on nature and books, in virtual community with others! Nature Museum president Laurie Danforth and librarian Michelle Dufort have selected titles for the months of April and May that are sure to generate great conversation.

The Spring series begins in April, with a deep look at the emotions of animals in well-known Dutch-American primatologist Frans de Waal’s lovely, compassionate book, Mama’s Last Hug.

Kirkus Reviews states, “De Waal turns his years of research into a delightful and illuminating read for nonscientists, a book that will surely make readers want to grab someone’s arm and exclaim, “Listen to this!”

In May we go deep (in the ground) with Merlin Sheldrake’s fascinating book about fungi, Entangled Life. “Mycelium, Sheldrake says, is the tissue that holds together much of the world.” In fact, a reviewer for the Guardian states that this title itself is a “door- opener” book--a book “with a specialist subject in which it finds pathways leading everywhere. This is a genre devoted to connectedness in all directions, and is one well suited to our times. Sheldrake’s book is a very fine example.”

The library will have multiple copies of the titles, available to participants, first come, first served, while supplies last. Books are loaned on a monthly basis, not for the entire spring series, although it may be possible to renew a title after you borrow it.

Discussion questions, book guides and loaned books are available upon registration for each session.

To register, email Michelle Dufort at the Grafton Public Library at: librarian@graftonpubliclibrary.org

At the end of the spring series, The Nature and Books Discussion series will take a break for the summer months. However, we invite you to continue your exploration of the natural world by staying connected to summer program offerings at The Nature Museum and stopping by the Grafton Public Library to see what’s popping up on the shelves.